Inflatable bolsters have been developed to improve vehicle occupant protection in the event of sudden vehicle deceleration. A conventional bolster is mounted within a vehicle passenger compartment and includes a hollow body and an inflator for injecting a pressurized fluid into the hollow body. In order to reduce the potential for injuries the inflator is activated upon detection of such an event and the bolster is inflated to form a cushion.
Known in the art are the following patent and patent applications which disclose inflatable bolsters and like: U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,978, U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,057, U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,497, U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,710, U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,103, U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,867, U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,689, U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,493, U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,706, U.S. Pat. No. 7,350,852, US2007/0108747, US2009/0152848, US2009/0250915, WO2006/132990, WO2009/124394, WO2009/124395, and WO2009/124401.
One prior passenger side active knee bolster comprises a storage bin and a hinging door. The door comprises a polymeric expansible body having a face portion towards a vehicle occupant and a back portion in opposing relation. The expansible body is connected to an inflator such that upon discharge of a gas, the face portion is projected outwardly to an extended position so as to intercept lower extremities of the occupant.
While such a construction may provide a desired degree of protection there is a need for a means to meet space restrictions on the passenger side of the vehicle and a need to meet interior design flexibility, glove box storage capacity and appearance requirements. Current safety devices present vehicle packaging difficulties and may not represent the most cost effective approaches to protecting occupants of a vehicle.
While such a construction may provide a desired degree of protection there is a need for a means to reduce occupant injuries in out of position situations. Current safety devices present dangers because of high output inflators employed for their inflation.
The passenger side active knee bolster of the present invention addresses these requirements. The improved functionality arises from an increase in internal glove box volume by minimizing inflatable chamber thickness of the glove box door assembly through support structure design. It is advantageous to have a reduced initial bladder volume requiring a lower inflator output.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.